Encyclopedia entry
155 - Coronaviruses, Including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, pp.2072-2080.e3
Elsevier Inc, Ninth Edition
2020
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-48255-4.00155-7
Abstract
The coronaviruses (CoVs) are members of the Nidovirales order—single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses with a large genome. They mutate and also recombine frequently. CoVs commonly cause mild but occasionally more severe community-acquired acute respiratory infections in humans. Community-acquired CoV infections cause about 15% of common colds. They are typically epidemic in the winter months. CoVs also infect a wide variety of animals, and several CoVs (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], Middle East respiratory syndrome [MERS]) have crossed the species barrier, producing outbreaks of severe human respiratory disease. While SARS-CoV was eradicated, MERS-CoV continues to circulate in human and camel populations. MERS has occurred in patients in the Arabian Peninsula and those who recently traveled from this locale. As of March 10, 2019, 2374 cases of laboratory-confirmed MERS were reported to the World Health Organization, with 823 deaths. Laboratory diagnosis is best accomplished by finding viral RNA through polymerase chain reaction. There are no accepted effective antiviral drugs for CoVs. Prevention is through epidemiologic methods and the use of appropriate respiratory precautions in hospital settings. The SARS epidemic and MERS outbreaks were controlled through careful case identification, quarantine, and use of barrier precautions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- 155 - Coronaviruses, Including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
- Creators
- Stanley PerlmanKenneth McIntosh
- Resource Type
- Encyclopedia entry
- Publication Details
- Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, pp.2072-2080.e3
- Edition
- Ninth Edition
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/B978-0-323-48255-4.00155-7
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2020
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Infectious Disease (Pediatrics)
- Record Identifier
- 9984071990302771
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